TRANSPORT IN INDIA

The history of transport in India takes you back to the Indus Valley Civilization, where street pavings were introduced in India. Around the 1st centuy, the Silk Route was made which tremendously aided in trade across India. The medieval India saw the emergence of the Grand Trunk Road which starts in Sonargaon near Dhaka in Bangladesh and ends at Peshawar in Pakistan and links some of the major cities in India from Kolkata to Amritsar. Today, India has a well-developed transport network comprising rail, road, coastal shipping and air transport. A well-knit and coordinated system of transport plays an important role in sustaining the economic growth of a country. India's public transport systems are among the most heavily utilized in the world, and cater to the travel needs of 1.1 billion people. India's rail network is the longest and fourth most heavily used system in the world transporting over 600 crore passengers and over 35 crore tons of freight annually. India has the third largest road network in the world, with over 33.20 lakh km of roadways spread across the length and breadth of the country. Transport infrastructure in India has been growing at a fast pace but needs to grow even faster to meet with the growing economic need.

TRADITIONAL MODES OF TRANSPORT

Walking is an important mode of transport in rural and urban areas. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is constructing more than 50 skywalks in the city so as to improve the transit conditions for pedestrians. Bullock carts have been traditionally used for transport of goods and people, especially in rural India. Horse carriages, known as tongas, are used in smaller towns for travel and as tourist attractions in cities. Bicycles are a common mode of travel in much of India. Over 40% of Indian households own a bicycle. Bicycle riding is gaining popularity in the metro cities. Pune implemented dedicated lanes for cycles in 2008. The Delhi Government plans to construct bicycle lanes on all major roads to combat pollution and ease traffic congestion. Hand-pulled rickshaws are still available in Kolkata though the government is seeking to ban it. Cycle rickshaws, introduced in the 1940s, continue to be in use in some cities. They are slow moving and cause traffic congestion but have the advantage of being a nonpolluting and inexpensive mode of transport. Trams are still in use in Kolkata and provide an emission-free means of transport.

LOCAL TRANSPORT
Buses account for over 90% of public transport in Indian cities, and serve as a cheap and convenient mode of transport. Services are mostly run by state government owned transport corporations. New initiatives like Bus Rapid Transit systems and air

conditioned buses are being undertaken to improve the public transport systems in cities. Auto Rickshaws & Taxis are registered as commercial vehicles to ply passengers. They can either be hailed or hired from rickshaw and taxi-stands. Suburban Rail & Metro Rail Suburban railway services are operational in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi. The Mumbai Suburban Railway which began services in Mumbai in 1867, transports 63 lakh passengers daily and has the highest passenger density in the world. Kolkata Metro was the first Indian city to possess a subterreanean rapid transport system in 1984. The Delhi Metro followed in 2002 and the Bangalore Metro has begun its trials. Rapid transit systems are also under construction in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Mumbai is presently building India's first urban monorail. There are also monorail systems being planned in Kolkata and Delhi. Two-wheelers like scooters, motorcycles and mopeds are owned by about 3.1% of Indian households. They are a popular mode of transport due to their fuel efficiency and ease of use in congested traffic. Private Automobiles account for 30% of the total transport demand in urban areas of India. However personalized vehicles, cars and two-wheelers, account for over 80% of the vehicular traffic in most large cities.

LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT

Railway Rail services in India, first introduced in 1853, are provided by the Indian Railways, under the supervision of the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the largest networks in the world, transporting over 1.8 crore passengers and over 20 lakh tonnes of freight daily. The rail network traverses through the length and breadth of the country, covering 6,909 stations over a total route length of around 63,465 km. It is the world's largest commercial employer, with more than 14 lakh employees. It operates a network of broad, metre and narrow gauges, and is in the process of converting the metre and narrow gauges into broad gauge in a project called Project Unigauge. Kashmir Railway is the second highest in the world. Proposals have been made to introduce high-speed rail in India. Railway also connects India to the neighbouring countries: o o o Pakistan is connected with the Samjhauta Express (Delhi to Lahore) and the Thar Express (Jodhpur to Karachi). Bangladesh is connected by the bi-weekly Maitree Express. Nominal rail links exist to Nepal.

Road India has the third largest road network in the world, with a total road length of over 33.20 lakh km spread across the length and breadth of the country. There are National Highways, State Highways, District roads and Village roads. They are the most ideal and cost effective modes of transportation in India with buses as a popular mode of public transport. The network of National Highways connects all the major cities and state capitals, forming the economic backbone of the country. As of 2005, India had a total of 66,590 km of National Highways. At 0.66 km of highway per sq km of land the density of Indias highway network is higher than that of the United States (0.65) and far higher than China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20). As per the National Highways Authority of India, though the National Highways account for only 2% of the road network, they carry about 65% of freight and 80% passenger traffic. In recent years construction has commenced on a nationwide system of multi-lane highways, including the North-South and East-West Corridors, and the Golden Quadrilateral Highway that will connect the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Air Transport Rapid economic growth and the introduction of Low Cost Carriers have made air travel more affordable. India has more than 345 civilian airports - 250 with paved runways and 96 with unpaved runways, and more than 20 international airports. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai handle more than half of the air traffic in South Asia. Air India, India's flag carrier, operates a fleet of 159 aircraft and plays a major role in connecting India with the rest of the world. Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, along with several other foreign airlines also connect Indian cities with other major cities across the globe. The popular carriers for domestic travel include Air India, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, Spice Jet, Go Air and Indigo. They connect more than 80 cities across India. India also has 30 heliports. The world's highest helipad is at the Siachen Glacier at a height of 6400 metre above mean sea level.

Water and sea transport o Ports: India is flanked by the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and thus has a long coastline. About 95% of the foreign trade by quantity and 70% by value takes place through the ports. Mumbai Port & JNPT (Navi Mumbai) handles 70% of maritime trade in India. There are twelve major ports: Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Vishakapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Kochi, New Mangalore,

Mormugao and Kandla. They come under the purview of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. Additionally, there are 187 minor and intermediate ports are regulated by the State governments and include private ports. 43 of these ports handle cargo. o Maritime transportation in India is managed by the Shipping Corporation of India, a government-owned company. It has a fleet of 79 ships and also manages 53 research, survey and support vessels. Waterways: India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 kilometres, out of which about 5,200 km of river and 485 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is in charge of the waterways in India. India has five National Waterways (NW):

NW1 - Allahabad - Haldia stretch of the Ganges - Bhagirathi - Hooghly river system. NW2 - Saidiya - Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra river system. NW3 - Kollam - Kottapuram stretch of the West Coast Canal. NW4 - Bhadrachalam - Rajahmundry and Wazirabad - Vijaywada stretch of the Krishna - Godavari river system along with the Kakinada - Puducherry canal network. NW5 - Mangalgadi - Paradeep and Talcher - Dhamara stretch of the Mahanadi - Brahmani river system along with the East Coast Canal.

Type of Road

Length 650 km as of 2006 66,590 km 131,899 km 467,763 km 2,650,000 km 3,300,000 km (approx)

Expressways National Highways State Highways

Major District Roads Rural and Other Roads Total Length